The Philadelphia Phillies split a doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, but their loss on the day brought more issues than a ding in the standings.
Veteran starter Aaron Nola saw a career-worst outing, giving up 12 hits and nine earned runs in just 3.2 innings. It was a low point in what has been a rough season for Nola and he was left without much reason for optimism that things would turn around soon.
“He could not miss bats. He permitted six two-strike hits because he could not put away hitters,” Matt Gelb wrote for The Athletic. “Said Nola: ‘I don’t really have another answer for tonight, besides: Terrible.’”
Nola is nearly 32 years old and in just the second year of a seven-year, $172 million deal with the Phillies, raising a red flag about how well he might perform as that deal ages. He now has a 6.16 ERA and leads Major League Baseball with seven losses on the year.
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“Maybe Nola just had a bad night,” Gelb added. “But there has to be a modicum of concern about inconsistent swing-and-miss stuff.”
Responding to that growing concern from most observers of Nola’s season so far, Phillies manager Rob Thomson offered a single word on whether he shares it: “No.”
“Because I think he’ll find it,” Thomson explained, per Gelb. “You got to trust he’s going to find it. He’s going to work at it, that’s for sure. And he’s going to figure it out.”
After a harsh season grew much worse on Wednesday, the Phillies and Nola seem to have little choice but to keep working and keep that trust in place.
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